Weekly Review: Japanese Breakfast – For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)
hey yall! for this week’s weekly review, we’re catching up on a discography with Japanese Breakfast’s recent release, For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)!
For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women) is, true to the record’s title a very melancholic record. my spouse came home to me listening to the record this week and asked if i was listening to sad girl music. it does not disappoint in that regard, haha
thematically, it’s pretty tight. many of these songs feature women in complicated relationships with men – the opener, Here Is Someone, introduces folks are in relationships of convenience or necessity. Little Women and Leda are a pair of tracks in the middle of the record that describe a sad, older man who’s estranged from his daughter, looking back on that separation, and a daughter reflecting on the damage her father has done. while tracks like Mega Circuit have a particular opinion about toxic masculinity and the way it eats away at men, fidelity in the relationships on this record goes both ways – Honey Water is a desperate plea from the speaker for her lover to not leave, but Men in Bars, which features some neat vocals from Jeff Bridges, reflects the other side, of a man who knows his lover goes out.
i really like Picture Window a lot – in an interview, Michelle Zauner talked about an anxiety around the mortality of others, and how nice it is to realize her loved ones don’t have that same kind of anxiety. got some twangy guitars in this one on the bridge that are awesome. Orlando in Love is another track that really jumped out at me – really neat song. Winter In LA has a speaker who feels insufficient for their lover, who’s expressing that they feel like their lover should have someone not like them.
on the whole, a really strong record. it’s quiet, and musing, and definitely bittersweet, but a really good album.
faves – Orlando in Love, Honey Water, Mega Circuit, Picture Window, Winter in LA
dislikes –
For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women) – 7/10
support the band by checking this album out on Bandcamp!
i’ll be back next week with a review of Anchor Drops, by Umphrey’s McGee – in the meantime, please let me know what album you’d like me to review below!
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